Part 4, Chapter 1 Summary

For some people, few things are as exciting as the sound, feel and sight of an airliner's take-off. In June, conference season is well under way as university teachers are freed from academic responsibilities, write papers on some subject and combine work and play on the conference circuit. The traveling scholars imbibe and share information about the various airlines and airports, highjackings, accidents, groundings and all matters of language and custom in various cities around the world. People of every color and nation meet at these conferences devoted to every discipline imaginable. Academic subject groups are self-defining, exclusive entities, each speaking its own jargon, publishing its own journal and organizing its own conferences. What unites them is the tedium of their formal programs and the attendees' devotion to having fun. Some scholars, like Zapp, are versatile enough to get invited to...